India vs Australia: Usman Khawaja ready to bat at any position

Usman Khawaja, Australia’s left-handed opener, announces he is now fully fit and ready to play the India vs Australia Tests.

Ready for action: Usman Khawaja is now fully fit after an injury layoff.

Australia’s Usman Khawaja has said he is ready to bat at any position in the upcoming Test series against India. The left-handed opener was picked in the 14-man squad for the first two Tests.

“I’m happy to bat wherever. I’ve said that to [captain Tim Paine]. He (new pick Marcus Harris) is obviously an opener. I expect him to open,” cricket.com.au quoted Khawaja as saying.

‘Feeling all right’

Khawaja has been out of action since having undergone a surgery on a torn meniscus sustained during the Test series against Pakistan earlier this year. He was now fully fit, he announced. “I’m fine right now,” he said. “It’s just about playing some cricket now. It’s feeling all right at training. I’ve done as much as I can at training, so hopefully, fingers crossed, it keeps going well,” Khawaja said.

“I’ve had a pretty high workload the last two weeks; [I] batted, ran, fielded. Everything is going well thus far,” he added.

‘Quality player’ Renshaw

Commenting on the omission of Matt Renshaw, he said, “I’m sure [Renshaw] is [disappointed]. He’s a quality player. I’m sure he is going to go out and score lots of runs in Shield cricket this season. I expect him to have a very bright future. I’ve been in their shoes before. Being dropped is never fun. But it’s all a learning experience, it’s all about growth.”

The first Test begins on December 6 at Adelaide Oval.